Fancy basking in temperatures of 17C or so in January? Winter breaks to the Canary Isles are one way of achieving this, but relocating to Britain's "hot-spots" could also give you a few more balmy winter days. Eight times in the last century the mercury has climbed above 17C in January somewhere in the UK. All eight of those times the location has been along the north Welsh coast, with the village of Aber (approximately half way between Bangor and Llandudno) taking the crown twice.

The reason for this pocket of warmth in north Wales is because of the "Föhn effect". Britain's warmest winter winds usually blow from the south or south-west. When they reach north Wales the winds are forced up over the Cambrian mountains (where they deposit their moisture). Air descending the other side is warmed by compression.

The north Welsh coast is not the only spot to enjoy this winter warming effect: the north Devon coast (in the lee of Exmoor), the North Yorkshire coast (in the lee of the North Yorkshire Moors), the Carlisle and Eden Valley (downwind of the Cumbrian fells), and the southern shore of the Moray Firth (in the lee of the Grampian massif) benefit from the Föhn effect occasionally too.

A particularly good year for these hot spot locations was 1971, with January temperatures in the high teens, while London languished at just 12C. Who needs Tenerife, when we have Prestatyn, Ilfracombe or Whitby instead?